2012 Dodge Charger Grille Emblem on 2040-parts.com

McLaren F1 sells for $8.47 million at Gooding & Co’s Pebble Beach Auction

McLaren F1 chassis #66 (pictured) has sold for $8.47 million There’s been an inexorable rise in the price of classic cars in recent years as rich men realise that certain classic cars not only have huge appeal, but appear to be going only one way in price. Add to that – certainly in the UK – that any profits made on the sale of a classic car you’ve bought for your own enjoyment are tax free, and it’s no shock that values keep rising, and the rarer the car the more they rise. So with only 64 road cars made, the McLaren F1 can be considered a sound investment, with values rising since it first sold in the 1990s for around £640,000 to a new world record auction price set last night of £8.47 million (around £5.42m).

New Honda Insight Hybrid: Insight Exclusive gets 1.5 litre from CR-Z

Honda Insight Exclusive gets bigger 1.5 litre IMA Hybrid You can’t blame Honda for wanting to keep a toe in the hybrid waters, especially as arch rival Toyota has all but cornered the market. But you can blame them for the rather woeful Honda Insight Hybrid which, despite offering good headline economy and a bit of a green halo, is something of a dog. However, a chunk of the criticisms levelled at the Insight were addressed by Honda last month when it revealed its nips and tucks for the Insight for 2012.

Audi hosts student workshop in Design UNIverse

Audi has hosted a Design UNIverse event in Ingolstadt as part of its plan to support the next generation of automotive designers. 42 student designers from four European universities were challenged to create models of a futuristic Audi that embodies the idea of "Vorsprung Durch Technik" while working closely with designers and discussing trends and how to create emotional products. The students – from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (Slovakia), Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan (Italy), the Offenbach University of Art and Design (Germany) and the Royal College of Art London (Great Britain) – created 46 different models.